At the same time, CBS Students encourages its students to give their input to prompt the Danish government and politicians to prioritize welfare more highly when making decisions on behalf of university students.

And if you ask the President of CBS Students, Sarah Langkjær Diemar, the political aspect of Student Welfare Week 2020 is particularly significant.

“This year, we really want to highlight student welfare among decision-making politicians and CBS’ management,” she says and explains:

“Therefore, at CBS Students, we’ve asked the Minister of Education, Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen to make a video featuring constructive input specifically for CBS students on how we can improve their welfare.”

Throughout the week, the program will also contain video conversations with representatives from both the trade union Djøf and various student organizations at CBS. They will talk about how they are dealing with the matter on an everyday basis, as well as using that experience to identify what they think are priority issues on the political agenda within this field.

And in general, CBS Students will publish posts online every day throughout the week, featuring a range of people in various positions associated with student welfare, and promoting and sharing links to the counselling available to students at CBS.

The importance of welfare

The first edition of the campaign, which was launched in 2019, lasted a whole month and was designed to highlight student wellbeing in different ways.

For instance, students were asked to suggest ideas on how to improve the study environment, which could then be used in discussions on how to make being a student at CBS easier and more comfortable.

But although the themes of the old and new campaign are very similar, the circumstances are not.

“The campaign is more important now than ever before. COVID-19 has had major consequences for many of our students. Both on an individual level and among the different student communities,” Sarah Langkjær Diemar says and continues:

“Already before the virus broke out, around 20 percent of Danish students on a national basis stated that they had experienced dissatisfaction with their studies in various ways, such as suffering from stress and loneliness. And to put it mildly, COVID-19 doesn’t really change that tendency.”

However, besides COVID-19 and its consequences for students, the campaign is also important in relation to the upcoming student election in November.

“Many of the student organizations at CBS deal with student welfare. Therefore, we hope that the campaign will encourage the newly-elected representatives of these organizations to highlight this item on the agenda,” the President of CBS Students says.

Student Welfare Week runs until Friday, and Sarah Langkjær Diemar hopes the campaign will have an impact on several levels.

“On the one hand, it’s important that our students know their welfare is of high priority to us and that they know where to find help and support if they need it,” she says and adds:

“At the same time, it’s very important that CBS employees know that we want them to take further measures to ensure that the student environment is much healthier. Not just when it comes to stress and loneliness, but in general.”